After six years at the Sorcerer’s Apprentice school, Erwyn must take his final exam. For four years, he must wander through the world, alone and and unarmed, equipped with the thirteen basic spells and not much else—and then survive long enough to return to the school for graduation.

What were his teachers thinking? Or perhaps it’s just their way of thinning down the competition.

Of course, the alone part doesn’t last very long for Erwyn, since everything and everyone in the neighborhood seems to gravitate in his direction—orcs, evil magicians, cranky old men, plus an odd number of women with an arsenal of swords, knives, and curlers at their disposal.

And unarmed is, more or less, a matter of one’s point of view. Especially when one has the ability to create magic sandcastles out of thin air. But the sand has to come from somewhere, doesn’t it? And can he learn to use it as an offensive weapon so he can stay alive long enough to get home?

Erwyn needs to find out fast. A good spell-checker charm wouldn’t hurt, either.